Valve-gear-operating mechanism



R. .-GR|'FF|N vALvE GEAR OPERATING mcmmrsu Filed De@ 2'8, 192s .f &

Nov. 3,1925.

vwentoz Home Patented Nov. 3, 1925.

UNITED STATES RANsoM GRIFFIN, orsaivroan, FLORIDA.

vALvE-GEAR-ornnnfriive MEcHAivIsiviQ f Application led December 28K, 19237. Serial No. 683,224.

To all wim/m 'it-magy concern:

Be it. known that I, RANsow L. GRIFFIN,

` a. citizen of the United StatesV of America,

of the engine cab and resident of Sanford, in the county of Seminole and State of Florida, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Valve-Gear-Operating Mechanism,

of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to valve gear op erating mechanism, and has for an ob]ect the provision of novel means for moving the valve gear of any kind of a locomotive from a forward position to a reverse position, or to a neutral position therebetween; the said invention being a manually operated valve gear shift that is positivein operationand requires comparatively littlepower for its actuation.

Itl is a further object of this invention to produce a gear shift of the character indicated that can be installed on locomotives, and in which the manually operated device is solocated as to be within convenient reach window, in order that the engineer may control the gear from that position.

It is a further object of this invention to produce a shifting mechanism of the character indicated whichwill possess durability and to provide gears which are capable of being shifted to bring new parts of said gearsinto operative relation with one another'in order that its durability may be insured. l

lith the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention consists in the details of construction, and in the arrangement and combination of parts to be hereinafter more fully set forth and claimed.

In describing the invention in detail,

`reference will be had to the'accompanying byua bracket 11.

leverl has a rod .7 pivotally connected to it, and the said rod extends rearwardly to an arm Sftliat isrigidly` connected to the hub of a gearwhcel 9, the said gear wheel being rotatable on a stub shaft 10 carried The bracket maybe of any appropriate type, capable of being secured to a ruiming board 12 of a locomotive,y and preferably these parts are located in proximity to the front end of the'cab.

A lgearwheel 13 meshes with the gear wheel 9 and it is rotatably mounted on a shaft lllcarried by the bracket 11 so that Jthe said wheels may be maintained inmesh with each other lwhile in operation. An arm gaged by a detent 19, and the detent is under the control of a lever 2O that is pivoted onthe upper end ofthe lever 17 in proximity to the handle 21.011 the said lever 1'? in order that the` lever may be oscillated for the purpose of changingy the valve mechanism of a locomotive.

From an inspection of the drawing and 'i especially Fig. 2, it will be apparentthat as the lever 17 is moved by the engineer, the arm 5 can be thrown rearwardly or forwardly and this, in turn, will partially rotate the intermeshing gear wheels 13 and 9. The partial rotation of the wheel 9 will oscillate the arm S and move 4the rod Z in order that the bell crank lever may be oscillated and the short arm ofi the lever 5 will communicatemotion to the valve mech- ,anisinV through means of aflink connection 22 between the short end of the bell crank lever 5 and the link slide valve rod. The link 23 is connected to a slide block which is movable in a segment.`

As arranged in Figs. 1 and 2, the rod 7 passes the arm 15 and is connected to the arm 8 of the smaller gear wheel 9.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in Fig. 3, the quadrant 23 is associated with a support 24 for the lever 25 and means are provided for holding the lever at different positions of adjustment. A link 26 is pivotally4 connected to said lever at a point between its ends, and the said link is pivotally connected to the upper end of an arm 27 that partially rotates the wheel eff which operates in the same manner as the1 bell crank lever 5. The bell crank lever 34A 'being connected directly to theV smaller gear WheelfmayV havea smaller bell crank .to provide for other types of link motions,

las "in the form shown in Fig. 3, the motion of the. lever is communicated to the arm 32S inv a reverse direction to that in Which the lever 1:7 communicates motion to the. arm 3, and these relations f parts may bek changed to suitv particular requirementsA andfth'ei form that r1sV regarded as more con. f vement for the particular installation, as'k when the arm of the bell crank 34 is short as compared yWiththe arm shown by the' r other figuresy of the drawings.

In thez illustration in' l, the

is-.u'nderstood thatlthe teeth shall vbe meshed, as by this means they are more positive in their operation.

" litl is thepurpose offthe inventor that the.

gear Wheels may have their positions'v changed in order that other gear teeth may be brought into operation, should any cfr them become Worn, and by reason of this interchangeable provision, they can be used throughout their circumference, and their Y length of l,service will therefore be greatly order-'that the'r advantages of the' inventiony ymay be 'better understood, yit `may be stated that through the employment vof the belli crank 5, which locomotive engineers termV a'- tumbling shaft arm, land the gear connections between it andthe operating lever, the.r parts maybe held at diler'ent positions ofv l. adjustment Without undue strain on the operating parts andthe mechanism can be koperatedfor shifting the valvev gear-With slight eifort and the gearing' maybe movedy from'- neutral to forward or reverse positions and Wheels' 9 and; 13. are shown' on rat-her a small scale' andi therefore the yteeth are omitted, but it the throw imparted to the steam controlling valve may be minutely regulated from a single lever.

I claim: 1. In a shiftforvalve gear, a shaft arm adapted:to-,communicate motion to t-he valve gear of 'a locomotive, a rigid member piv- Otally connectedI to. the arm, a rotatably mounted gear Wheel, means for connecting the gear Wheel. to themember 'for reciprocating the said member as the gear VWheel partiallyrotates in ldifferent directions, a gear Wheelrotatably mounted and meshing with .the first mentioned gear Wheel, a reciprocatingmember' connected to the second mentioned gear Wheel' and adapted `to lpartialfly'v rotate the same in opposite directions, andv means for' imparting motion to the last `mentioned reciprocating member.

2. In a sliitt for valve gear,A a bell crank -ljeaferadapted to lbefoscillatably mounted in operative relation to a gear shift of a locomotive, means for connecting-one arm of the bell crank lever tosaid shifting means, a member pivotally connected-'toy the other varm offthe' bell crank` lever-and- `extending rear- Wardly, an arm to Which the rear end of the member is pivota'lly connected, a rotatably mounted member to Which :the arm -is con.- nected for oscillating the arm, a rotatably mounted member engaging the first' rotatahlymounted: member for*A communicating motion thereto, an arm connected to ythe'secondv mentioned rotatably mounted member, a rigid element pivotally connected` to the .last.mentionedarm, and a manually operatedrlever toavhich"the'opposite end of the member is pivotall'y connected.

3'. In a yshiftingmechani sm for valve! gear',v

al device orf raising fand? lowering the ylock of 'a valve gear, ,a' .manuallyy operated lever, rotata/bly. mounted Wheels interposed between the manually operated lever andthe shifting mechanism having .means l for communicating mot'ion'one to--the other a reciprocatingy connection ybetween the manually 'operated lever .and one ofthe Wheels whereby the Wheel is partially rotated, and; meansconnecting the other Wheel to the shifting mechanism whereby motion of the gear Wheels is com- -municated thereto.

RANSOM L. GRIFFIN. 

